Secondary Tales of the Two Great Epics

SR No.: 001566
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Rajendra I Nanavati
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad
Publication Year: 1982
Total Pages: 210
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Literature, Mythology, & Story
File Size: 15 MB

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Secondary Tales of the two Great Epics
orphaned embroys that leads to the formation of etymological legends. It is rather the popular desire to justify the name of a character that acts as a motivating force in the formation of such legends. This popular tendency is also reflected in the general linguistic tendency to justify the meaning of a name as observed even in popular etymologies as well as in such etymological legends. As R. Anttila puts it, "Language has a general iconic tendency, whereby semantic sameness is reflected also by formal sameness". 178 If some of such legends are connected with the Ascetics' Tapas - Indra's Fear - Seduction by Apsarases -- motif-structure, the connection is only secondary, more accidental than' inherent.179
It will be observed that such etymological tales are more frequently narrated in connection with sages and brāhmins than with ksatriyas. Tales of Matsya or of Drupada (this is relegated to the Appendix) are rather exceptional. But the etymological nature of tales is most general in tales of gods which are more generally known as myths or divine legends. Dr. Hara ends his article with a reference to the story of the birth of Skanda Kārttikeya. The names of gods when explained etymologically, do normally give a clue to the central traits of those gods. Thus, the attempts to explain the name of Varuņa from Vvs - 'to cover', or of Uşas from vas - "shine', of Pusan from pus - 'nourish', of Vişņu from » viś - 'enter, pervade', of Dyaus from dyu - "shine', of Pịthvi from prath - 'expand may not, after all, be futile; on the contrary, it is more likely that they might, with due precautions, help reveal the real meanings of many myths.
The observation that the etymological tales are mostly narrated in connection with sages might seem, at first sight, to faveur Dr. Hara's deduction about the orphaned embroys since the sages do not breed a family; but a little thinking will reveal that whenever the tale-teller thinks of the embryo as an orphan he always takes care to provide a foster-parent for the orphan, as he provides sage Kanva in the case of Śakuntalā, or sage Sthūlakeśa in the case of Pramadvarā, or king Santanu in the case of Krpa and Kệpi. The motif of the orphaned embryo, therefore, is brought in by Dr. Hara only to explain the imagined gap in the motif-structure, but is not necessary, as we have already shown in the discussion of the Rşyaśộnga episode 180
A greater variety of forms i.e, of content-structures as well as of functions can be observed in the birth-stories of the heroes and other characters of the epic. The 178 An Introduction to Historical and Comparative Linguistics, Raimo Anttila, 1972. p.89. 179 Regarding the story of Yavakrita referred to by Dr. Hara, it may be pointed out here that
this story also reflects the Brähamna-Sramana dichotomy. Indra is the highest god of Vedic pantheon and it appears strange that he should oppose Yavakrīta's efforts to learn Vedas. The reason is that Yavakrīta's mode of learning Vedas is not Brāhmanical. The correct way of learning the Brahminical Vedas is to hear them from the mouth of a teacher. Indra first tries to make him realise this by instructing him to learn them 'guror mukhăt'. It is the sage's insistence to learn the Brāhmanical lore in a non-Brahminical way--through penance
which is characteristic of the Sramana tradition that turns him wrathful. 180 vide above p.43.